Dreams
by z3ro cool
Summary: Rufus wants to know why Reno can't sleep at night. Reno/Rufus


**Dreams

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**Author's Note:** Just a one-shot. The pairing is Reno/Rufus, with a single moment of implied slash. Mostly fluff, or as fluffy as Reno and Rufus can get.

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

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He hadn't had a good night's sleep for as long as I'd known him. He tossed and turned, pulling at the silk sheets to the point that they would slide off the king-sized bed and onto the wood floor beneath. The moonlight seeping in through the slits in my blinds accentuated his pale features, which were surprisingly peaceful.

Some nights, he wouldn't sleep at all, but would instead sit by the window, watching as dark clouds made their way across the night sky. He would make no effort to lay with me, or help me fall asleep. When I would wake in the morning, he would be in the same position, staring out at the dawn as it broke.

Tonight was no different. As I undressed and walked over to the bed, he sat solemnly by the window. He had been up for at least two days now. Work had been steady, and he was heading up an investigation for me that had kept him out and about for the last forty-eight hours. He had to be exhausted, but he showed no signs of it. He also showed no signs that he intended to sleep tonight.

"I'm turning out the lights now," I said softly, my tone even. "You should come to bed."

The edge of his mouth lifted up into a smirk that he thought I couldn't see from where I was standing. When at work, he would do exactly as I ordered. But here, we were as equal as we could possibly be. He knew this, and used it to drive me completely mad.

"I'm not ready yet," he replied as he turned to face me. "Think we could stay up for a little while longer?"

One of his bright red eyebrows is raised suggestively, the corner of his mouth still held in a smirk. He was toying with me, as usual. Our relationship was a tenuous one. We had never put a name on exactly what we were, and therefore, had no established ground rules for how we conducted ourselves. All we both knew was that whatever happened here was significantly different than what would have happened anywhere else.

"I'm going to bed. You've been up for the last two days. Stay up a little while longer if you want, but get some sleep before work tomorrow," I responded as I clicked off the lights. As I crawled under the sheets, I watched him. He was still seated by the window, with no intention of moving. I sighed deeply and rolled onto my side. At least one of us should get some sleep.

I opened my eyes minutes later to the sound of clothes being shed. As I looked up, he removed his belt and shoes. His jacket had already come off, and his shirt was half unbuttoned. The rest of his clothes came off in a matter of seconds, and then he was crawling into my bed. He made no comments, and that infamous smirk was gone. He reached over and took my hand, giving it an innocent squeeze before rolling onto his back and closing his eyes.

I smiled and closed my eyes again, glad that he was seeing reason. I slowly drifted off to sleep.

An hour later, his cool hands were on my back, gently shaking me awake. "Rufus?" He whispered softly in the dark.

I rolled over to face him. "What is it?"

"Do you ever dream?" He asked. I couldn't see his eyes in the dark, but his voice was soft and contemplative. For one of the few times in my life, I was hearing something genuine from him.

"Not really. I'm sure I do, but I don't remember them. Why?" I replied. His hands rested idle against my chest, balled almost into fists.

"I can't stop dreaming," he responded quietly. "Every night when I sleep, I see the faces of everyone I've ever killed. Then I wake up and think about what their lives would have been like if they had never met me, or crossed you."

I was silent for the next few moments, considering my words. "Maybe it's time to take you out of the field. Give you an administrative position with a desk—"

"So that I can sign off on the papers to make some other poor bastard do the same thing?"

"I didn't mean it that way," I said gently. I reached out, putting my arm over his slender frame and pulling him close. "Maybe this isn't the right thing for you anymore. How long has this been going on?"

Now it was his turn to give me a moment of silence. After what felt like an eternity, he replied, "Since we started sleeping together."

I didn't reply at first, running through all of the thoughts in my head as to why this could be. When I started to reply, he cut me off. "When I'm here with you, I think about the lovers of all the people I've killed, and how they're sleeping alone at night now. And I think about how I don't deserve this."

"Neither of us do," I murmured. I found his lips in the dark and pressed mine against them. He responded passionately, moving to press the rest of his body against mine. We lay like this for a few minutes that feel like hours before he spoke again.

"Rufus?" He asked. His face was pressed into the hollow of my neck, and his breath was hot against the skin there. "What do you think about before you fall asleep?"

"You."

Perhaps that was why I never had trouble sleeping.


End file.
